Comforting Sakura
by littlesweetheart
Summary: Tragedy strikes Sakura, as the one person she loves most betrays her, and possibly Konoha. Unsure of what to do, she ends up finding comfort in the man she least expects.
1. Ch 1 Waking Up

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just the story.**_

_**This is my first story so please review and give me some constructive criticism. Tell me what you like about it and if you want me to continue with this please!**_

_**(A/N:) I completely redid the story due to the fact that the first one was just blah. It needed a little more to it. Don't forget to review!**_

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ch.1: Waking Up

_**A muffled scream filled the warm night air. He smirked as she screamed with pain. A white hot pain entered her stomach. She could feel her blood pool beneath her. She could hear laughing...cold eyes were looking down at her. They were as black as the still darkness around her. Could no one hear her? Would no one come to her rescue? Before she entered into complete darness she heard him, "I thought this was what you wanted." She looked up at the twisted, contorted face above her one last time before finally passing out. **_

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That nightmare had seemed real. Had it been real?

Muffled voices were heard around her as she slowly opened her heavy eyes. A searing pain shot through her head as she looked up at the bright white lights. Groggily she rubbed her forehead with a pale slender hand as she pondered her current position. The smell of disinfectant permeated the air around her, and she realized she was in the hospital, a place she knew all too well.

Over the past few years Sakura had spent most of her time in the hospital training to be a medic with the fifth Hokage. She had become almost as skilled as the Hokage herself. Sakura now took on most of the hospital work, which meant the procrastinating fifth could now get some of her paper work done.

Upon awakening, she found bandages wrapped around her abdomen tightly, effectively binding her injuries together so as not to cause any more damage. Sakura's head hurt and she felt a little nauseous with hunger.

"Sakura?" Ino's voice called out timidly to her friend.

Thought right now was a little difficult, and it took Sakura a while to comprehend who her speaker was. "Ino?"

Ino sat down gently beside the injured kunoichi and set her hand upon Sakura's. "We were all so worried about you." Ino announced quietly. Sakura squeezed Ino's hand weakly in an attempt to reassure her friend.

"Sakura do you know where you are?"

"My guess would be that I am in the Konoha Hospital."

Why was she in the Hospital? Pieces of that nightmare came back to her as she realized with pain that it was the real deal. There could be no denying what had happened to her. She understood why she was there and why she felt so numb. Suddenly she began to cry. She couldn't help it. Strong feminine arms reached around her shoulders, cradling her head against a warm chest.

She looked up to see the watery crystal blue eyes and attractive young face of her dear friend Ino. Ino's face was puffy and red from crying. There were little white streaks left behind where her tears had fallen and her nose was a bright red. Dark circles were clearly seen under her tired and exhausted eyes, as she had slept very little since she had received word that Sakura was in the hospital.

It comforted Sakura to know that Ino had been by her while she slept. Sakura was very lucky to have Ino as her friend. The two had become best friends since the chunnin exams.

Somewhere amid her hard sobs she could here Tsunade's voice trying to tell her as best she could what had happened.

Sakura didn't care she knew what had happened. She could still see those eyes, cold and uncaring, those eyes that would haunt her dreams until the day that she died. She could still hear the maniacal laughter as he looked into her terrified green eyes. He was cold and uncaring, but he had always been that way. She knew this, but something had changed. He had always ignored her but never had he hurt her berfore. At least not physically. She couldn't understand what had come over him. Why had he done this to her?

She looked over towards the window and found Naruto and Kakashi sensei looking at her with mixed expressions of anger and worry.

Naruto still resembled the carefree clueless boy of twelve: messy golden hair, cerulean blue eyes, and his forever goofy smile. But now at the age of 21 he was much taller, and his facial features were more defined. He had lost the roundness in his face and in its place he wore the face of a very handsome young man. Naruto had high cheek bones, a square and well defined jaw, and his eyes were warm and bright. Naruto's build was like that of Kiba, in that every muscle on his person was well defined and toned, he was a pretty big guy. Naruto continued to look more and more like the fourth every day. She had always admired how handsome he had turned out but at this moment her eyes were drawn to the three whisker-like marks on either side of his face. They were there because of the fox demon that had been sealed inside of him at birth. The Kyuubi gave Naruto incredible strength, but Naruto never let the Kyuubi completely control him. Naruto never let the evil completely consume him.

Naruto seemed to never stop smiling, but tonight he was somber and sad as he looked into the emerald eyes of his broken roseate haired friend.

Sakura looked to the face of the other man in the room. She blushed a little seeing him there. Kakashi still looked the same he always did: messy silver hair held up by his headband which also served to cover up his sharingan, he also wore a dark piece of cloth to cover up his nose and mouth. Sakura had often wondered why he hid his face from the world. It had plagued her since she was twelve. Kakashi stood against the wall in his usually lazy posture, his head hanging low and looking at the floor. If one were to look at him in this moment, he would have seemed care free and unconcerned. This, however, was not the case at all. Concerns for his young female student were alive in his head. Kakashi and Sakura had grown closer over the years even though technically he was no longer her sensei. He couldn't think of a single comforting thing to say to make his former student feel better, so he just stared helplessly at the floor. Sakura was amazed to see him here. She hadn't seen Kakashi since her 19th birthday. That was two years ago. He had been on a long mission since then. When had he gotten back?

Everyone present, including the Hokage herself, all wondered the same thing. Why had Sakura been raped by Uchiha Sasuke?

Sakura buried her face into the pillow as she cried.

How could she have been so foolish? What made her think that she could change him?

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MUAHAHAHA cliffy eh?? anyways please review and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of a very long story.


	2. Ch 2 The Mission

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just this story (but I wish I did)**_

_**(A/N:) Special thanks goes to my first reviewers Thatreevesgirl and Aylese1989.**_

Ch 2: The Mission

"_Come on Sakura, I thought this was what you wanted," he said, "Isn't this why you've been following me around lately?"_

_A pale strong arm grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly to him as he ran his tongue over her neck. He smirked as she cried out, "NO! Stop it! I don't want it to be like this!"_

_His coal black eyes looked upon her in dark amusement, "Awww is it too much for you Sakura?" he laughed. His hand tightened it's grip around her wrist and pushed her to the ground. He sat down on her legs as he held her arms in place above her head._

"_You're hurting me! Sasuke stop!" she screamed._

_She had never been so scared in her young life. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as he advanced upon her. She could remember the pain, his laughter as he tore into her but what she remembered most about that night were his dark ahd hateful eyes._

_She screamed._

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Sakura woke up covered in a cold sweat. It was just a dream, but it had felt so real. She looked around her bedroom. She could still feel his hands touching her and the lustful way he kissed her. She ran trembling fingers through her hair as she sat up and concentrated on slowing her heart rate down.

She arose from her nest of blankets and placed bare feet on cold hardwood floors. She walked the short distance to her bathroom slowly using the wall as a support system for her frail body. Looking in the mirror did nothing to improve her bruised ego as she looked a great deal less than fantastic.

A shower had been an impossible task after she had been released from the hospital. After Naruto and Kakashi carried the depressed kunoichi to her home, she had wanted nothing more than to sleep and cry. That had been exactly what she had done. Sakura had not eaten much let alone bathed since she had been home. Her hair was tangled and greasy, and she did not smell very pleasant. She had lost a lot of weight over the past days, and her clothes hung loosely over her already small frame like a baby wearing a father's shirt. The face that peered back at her looked sickly, pale, and drawn.

She sighed

She crawled back to her bed after splashing cold water on her face and buried herself underneath the fluffy white feather blanket. She hugged it to herself tightly, trying to forget the dream. She ran her hands unconsciously over the stiches in her lower stomach while her mind replayed the same scene over and over again.

She heard a knock at the door and a loud "Sakura-chan!" accompanied it. She really didn't want to see the number one hyper active ninja right now. He had been by every day to try and cheer her up. He always had something for her whether it was chocolate covered cherries or a beautiful flower arrangement from Ino's flower shop. He cracked jokes or made a comment on how beautiful a day it was outside in an attempt to coax the smile that he loved so much from her lips. As hard as Naruto tried though, nothing could break her free from the death grip depression had over her. She usually just rolled over on her side and ignored him. All she really wanted to do was drown herself in misery and pain. Why couldn't he just understand that?

Naruto came bounding in with a big goofy grin on his face. Damn that extra key! She should have never given him one.

"Sakura-chan! Come outside and see the cherry trees with me they're beautiful! They are almost the same color as your hair."

Sakura just looked up at him with her sad emerald green eyes, sighed, and turned over like usual but this time Naruto decided to lie down next to her on the other side. More than anything he wanted to comfort her and tell her it would be all okay, but he wasn't so sure it would be, so he didn't say anything. He wanted to reach over and hug her, but he was afraid to touch her.

She knew he was just trying to help, but he just didn't, couldn't understand. He had never gone through anything like this before. She just needed some time and space. Naruto stared helplessly at his friend, not knowing what he could do to help her.

He didn't say a word to her as he stared up at her ceiling, he was staring at an interesting crack when he felt her move. She pulled herself up closer to him and rested her head onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair as she began to sob into his shoulder.

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A lovely dinner for two was beginning to cool on Hinata's kitchen table. She looked out of the window in earnest as she looked for blonde tassled hair. Hinata had grown over the years. She no longer stuttered around people and with her elder cousin Neji's help, she had become a great Shinobi. She clasped her hands in excitement as she finally spotted the most important person in her life. Hinata ran from the house and down the pathway. "Naruto-kun!"

Naruto hugged his beatiful Fiancee tightly. Hinata could tell by the look on Naruto's face that the pink haired kunoichi was still not any better.

"Do you think she is going to pull through?"

"I honestly don't know yet. It is still too early to tell. After all she has loved him for a long time."

Hinata could relate to Sakura's devotion to the youngest surviving Uchiha. She too had fallen in love with a certain Blue-eyed shinobi at the tender age of twelve. Hinata pulled her golden haired fiancée into a tight embrace. Naruto looked into her eyes and smiled. Damn he was lucky, she was beautiful. Hinata had grown up into a very elegant and beautiful young woman. Her hair was much longer than it had been reaching almost half way down her back. She had soft features and beautiful curves to accompany them. Her Lavendar eyes were known throughout Konoha as a symbol of the Hyuuga clan and therefore a symbol of power. Naruto, however, found only peace and love in those eyes. In her eyes he could see his entire future.

He chuckled to himself; guys wish they were half as lucky as he was.

He gently kissed the soft spot where her neck met her shoulder and smiled, "Let's go to bed."

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_Sigh_

Sakura supposed she should get up and get dressed.

It had been weeks since she gotten out of the hospital. She had spent most of the time sleeping and moping around. She went out only to get food from the market, but she never stopped to talk to anyone. As she walked by the friendly Konoha market goers she could always hear at least one conversation about what supposedly had happened to her. She would always bypass the guilty party, only to sincerely wish she had said something to them. Why couldn't anyone just keep to themselves? But that was just how the grapevine went she supposed.

She headed back to her small bathroom yawning as she went. She turned on the shower and immediately stepped in. The cool water felt so good to her sticky sweaty skin. The water cascaded down her hair, neck, and back as it transferred from cold to hot. Every muscle in her small body relaxed a little with the heat. She grabbed the cherry scented shampoo and began to scrub her hair vigorously, washing away days worth of grime and grease. As the water rinsed her clean she felt like her troubles were literally going down the drain. She knew this was all just in her imagination though. Sakura knew it would be a very long time before she felt like her old self again. Then again there was a chance she would never be herself again.

"Aaaaaaaa"

It felt so good to be clean. She grabbed a fluffy pink towel and began to dry herself off. After this task was accomplished she wrapped the towel around her body and grabbed another towel to wrap around her soaking wet hair. The color of the towel almost perfectly matched the color of her hair, and it was difficult to tell which was which.

After completely drying off, she wrapped her rather large chest in white bandages to keep them from getting in the way of training. The effort though, was in vain as it only served to push the mounds of flesh higher up. She then walked to her closet and selected a pair of pink panties and her black jounin shorts. She then grabbed a tight red shirt with her family symbol on the back and her shoes. Last but not least she attached her leg guards and weapons holster. Packing some extra wrappings and some water, she stretched her legs and took off.

She had decided that a little running might do her some good as long as she avoided the more heavily populated areas.

After running about ten miles she ended at a sunny clearing near a small creek. She chose this particular spot, because it was out of sight, and she knew she wouldn't be bothered there. After carefully checking to make sure that no one was around she slipped off her red shirt and waded out into the crystal clear icy water.

It felt refreshing and exhilarating. She washed her face and upon getting out chose a sunny spot to lie out on and dry herself off a little. She felt the sun's warm rays beat down upon her chilled skin causing goosebumps to break out along her body.

As she silently lay there, she started to think back on her last mission. It was the first time she had noticed Sasuke's strange behavior. The mission had been the first assigned to her after making ANBU. She had been so excited at first. This was her big chance to show all of Konoha how much she had grown. When she heard what the mission consisted of, her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. Their mission was to find Orochimaru's hideout and gather information on the goings on there. Sasuke had been assigned to her squad, and she knew that the Hokage was taking a huge gamble by sending him there.

It was an extremely dangerous mission, but she didn't mind going. She had been determined to let all of Konoha know that she would no longer hold anyone back. It was a chance to prove that she was indeed a valuable asset to Konoha.

During the mission, however, she grew worried that something was wrong with Sasuke. He kept to himself more than usual and he refused to look her in the eyes. Sakura couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with him. He was usually moody, but not this moody. He had become so secretive and secluded. She had also noticed how he would disappear for hours at night. She wanted to know where he always went but was too afraid to follow him for fear of what he would do to her if he caught her. Her soulution had been to stick close to him during the day, hoping that he would open up to her eventually.

A few days later, Orochimaru attacked their camp. In a desperate attempt to give them the upper hand, Sakura drew chakra to her fingers then slammed her fist on the ground, creating a massive canyon between her team and Orochimaru. It bought them a little bit of time, but not much. She had drained a good bit of her chakra with that little stunt, and was afraid that she wouldn't escape this battle with her life. She desperately called out Sasuke's name while fighting off one of Orochimaru's men. She killed the bastard but took a kunai to the side. Frantically she looked around for Sasuke, praying that he had not been killed. When she found she could not find him she almost cried on the spot. Where the hell was Sasuke?! Her team put up a good fight but Orochimaru managed to kill three of their men before they safely retreated back to Konoha.

She found out later that Sauske was alive and well. When she saw Sasuke for the first time after the mission she was torn between slapping him and hugging him. She then asked him where he was during the battle. He had told her that he had been fighting off three of Orochimaru's men on the other side, and couldn't get to her in time. That had satisfied her for the time being, but now she wasn't so sure. Another question came to mind when she thought of how their camp's position had been compromised. They had taken every precaution possible. Who had been the mole?

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**tell me what you think. should I go on? Please please please review!!!**


	3. Ch 3 Betrayal

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto just this story.**_

_**Please read and review-its my first story : )**_

**Ch 3: Betrayal**

The day after Sakura was released from the hospital, Tsunade had informed her that Sasuke was now a missing-nin, and believed to have joined Orochimaru.

It was all becoming so clear to Sakura now. She remembered how during the second task of the Chunin exam, Orochimaru had put a curse mark upon Sasuke's left shoulder.

The mark fed on Sasuke's chakra every time he attempted to use a gen-jutsu or his precious Sharingan. Each time he used his chakra the mark became more powerful. During the second task, the mark had taken over, and made Sasuke turn malicious and vengeful.

Every time Sasuke used his chakra the cursed mark slowly devoured the man she loved, turning him evil and filling him with hate. She hated it; it was like a parasite eating him alive. He craved more and more power each time, and he became steadily more powerful every time the curse mark took over him.

She had seen the signs, and had noticed it was becoming harder and harder for him to change back. He no longer smiled, and kept to himself more and more. It was driving her crazy; she hated to see him like that. She refused to say anything to anyone, and the more he pushed her away, the harder she fought to hold on.

She loved him and refused to let him be consumed by this…this stupid mark!

Anko, who had previously been under Orochimaru's control, had made a prediction to the late Lord Hokage. She had predicted that Sasuke would become so power hungry that he would seek out Orochimaru and join him.

Sadly, it now seemed as if that prediction had come true!

During Sakura's last mission, Sasuke had betrayed them all. After finding out the location of Orochimaru's hideout, Sasuke met with him and asked to join. He knew that Orochimaru could give him the power he so desperately wanted. Orochimaru gladly accepted, knowing full well that Sasuke would one day seek him out. That was his whole plan when he first gave Sasuke the mark. He knew of the last Uchiha's power, and he craved it. He knew Sasuke would make a valuable asset to him.

Orochimaru, however, wanted to test Sasuke's loyalty and had him perform a series of test each night. He was to assassinate several elite ninja from different countries, and then for his final task, assassinate the Hokage of Konoha. Sasuke never hesitated, and carried out Orochimaru's tests with swiftness and skill. He knew he did an excellent job and no one would ever trace it back to him. He then willingly betrayed his team by giving Orochimaru the location of his camp, and how to get by all of the secret jutsus laid out as traps.

Orochimaru gave orders to Sasuke to go back to his team and return to Konoha. He would send for Sasuke two weeks later. To relieve suspicion from himself; Sasuke fought bravely alongside his team the day Orochimaru attacked their camp. He fought and killed three of Orochimaru's men. He was celebrated as a hero when he arrived back in Konoha.

No one had suspected a thing…that is no one but Haruno Sakura.

Ever since the mission she had decided to keep and eye on Sasuke. She followed Sasuke around like a lost puppy. She wanted him to know that he wasn't alone, that she wanted to help him. She wasn't going to let the Sasuke she knew die…she loved him.

Then on that fateful night, he lost his temper with her.

She shuddered, just thinking about that night sent chills up her spine. How could she have been so stupid? She knew she couldn't change him, but still, she had to try. She had never given up hope.

Sakura fought the urge to cry again.

Sakura was so lost in her thoughts, that she hadn't even sensed the handsome silver haired ninja standing two hundred feet away.

Kakashi had come to get some training done before going to the bar with his best friend Genma. He hadn't meant to walk in on the lovely scene before him.

He knew he should turn around and walk quickly in the opposite direction, but he stood transfixed, captivated by her appearance. Her form was so lovely in the warm sunshine, he just couldn't look away.

When had she become so…grown up?

He stared at the silky smooth legs, and the way her tight running shorts formed beautifully to her perfect bottom. His eyes traveled up her tight abs, and then hesitated a moment on her chest. She was still wearing nothing but her sports bra, and she was still wet from the river. He couldn't help himself as he watched a water droplet roll down into her cleavage. From there his eyes finally came to rest on her face. Her roseate colored locks had spread wildly about her, he wanted to run his fingers through it, feel the softness of it. Her face looked relaxed and peaceful. The features of her face were softened, but still well defined. She had full rosy lips, long black eyelashes, a small but well defined nose, and high cheekbones.

She was in all sense of the word perfect. She had always been a pretty little girl, but that was just it, she had been just a girl. Now at twenty one she was stunning. He drank in her appearance as if it was the only thing keeping him alive.

She moved her hand up to her face to brush a pink strand away that was tickling her nose. Suddenly, as if someone had just slapped him, Kakashi awoke from his trance and within a few seconds was gone. He felt so foolish for staring like that, but he knew it couldn't have been helped.

Sakura opened her eyes and stretched. Damn! It had gotten late! She looked around, thankful that no one had seen her.

She had to go home and change. She had finally given into Naruto, and agreed to have dinner with him and Hinata. She was actually looking forward to the dinner. Ino would be there too, and she hadn't seen her best friend since the day she woke up in the hospital.

The next morning, Sakura woke up, took a shower, put on a black shirt and some khaki shorts. An ANBU mission was to be held that morning at 8:00, and she didn't want to be late. After grabbing an apple, she headed out the door.

When she arrived she chose a seat on the far wall near the window and made herself comfortable. She knew how long these meetings were, and decided that she would make herself as comfortable as possible. Tsunade, who had been made Lady Hokage, strolled into the room with a grave expression on her face.

"As you well know Uchiha Sasuke has been recently reported as a missing-nin." Sakura sat up a little straighter in her chair. "We believe he has joined up with Orochimaru, as was predicted when he was twelve. However, if there is a chance that Sasuke is not with him, or is being held against his will, we will use every resource available to retrieve him before another country does. I need thirty volunteers. This mission is unrated, and if you choose to accept it, know that it is extremely dangerous. I will understand if you are hesitant to…"

Tsunade was not able to finish her sentence due to the fact that someone had volunteered already. Her Face showed nothing but shock as she stared at the small hand in the air.

Did you like this chapter?? Please review!!!


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